SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team rallied back from a 10-point second half deficit to earn a 57-56 victory over West Chester University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover competition Sunday at Morrow Field House.
 
With the win The Rock breaks a two-game losing streak to improve their record to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the PSAC West while West Chester moves to 3-7 for the season overall and 1-4 in the conference.
 
A trio of SRU players scored double-digit points to aid in its comeback campaign in Jamiyah Johnson, who collected her 10th double-double of the season, with 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two blocks and one steal. Following were Isabellah Middleton, who collected 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals as well as Daeja Quick who tallied 11 points, three assists and one steal.
 
Rounding out The Rock's leading scorers were Kennedy Middleton (9 points, 6 rebounds), Deleah Gibson (6 points, 2 steals) and Anyah Curd (4 points, 10 rebounds).
 
Slippery Rock trailed West Chester for much of the contest with the Golden Rams going on a 10-0 run with 6:56 minutes left in the first quarter leading to an eventual 22-12 advantage for West Chester heading into the second.
 
SRU opened the second period with a 5-0 run before The Rock and Golden Rams traded baskets back-and-forth for the remainder of the second ultimately allowing Slippery Rock to outscore West Chester 18-13, cutting its deficit to 35-30 at the half.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, the Golden Rams extended their lead back to 10 points before Quick grabbed a defensive rebound and proceeded to go coast to coast making a layup that ignited a 6-0 run for The Rock that cut West Chester's lead to just two points with 3:36 left to play in the third quarter.
 
Slippery Rock would go on to outscore The Golden Rams 7-2 over the final minutes of the third to pull even with WCU at 47-47 going into the fourth quarter. Johnson supplied SRU with five of the seven points during the run.
 
The Rock maintained their momentum with Kennedy Middleton connecting on a 3-pointer with 7:56 left to play in the fourth quarter to give Slippery Rock its first lead (50-47) since the opening minutes of the contest.
 
SRU and West Chester again traded baskets for the following three minutes as The Rock extended their lead to as many as three before Maya Carter scored what would be the final basket of the contest with 1:30 left in regulation. While SRU did not score over the final 90 seconds, The Rock's defense forced WCU into two turnovers and to miss its final attempt at the game-winner, sealing the 57-56 victory.
 
As a team, Slippery Rock shot 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the floor, 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from long range and 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the charity stripe.
 
The Rock held advantages over West Chester in points off turnovers (18-12) and points in the paint (28-18). While committing 15 miscues of its own, SRU forced West Chester into 21 turnovers while holding a slim 44-43 edge in rebounding.
 
The Golden Rams ended the game shooting 35 percent (21-of-60) from the floor, 25 percent (4-of-16) from 3-point range and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the foul line. Leah Johnson finished the night with a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five steals.
 
The Rock now takes two weeks off for the holiday break before opening the new year at Fairmont State University 2 p.m. Jan. 2.
 



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